The 10 Best Movies of 2012!

In a New York Times Magazine article earlier this month, A.O. Scott wrote about the state of cinema under the headline, “Film Culture Isn’t Dead After All.”

“I hate to ruin a good funeral, but all of this is nonsense,” Scott said, reacting to the recent spate of writing that declared the decline of movies. “The coffin is empty. The habit of issuing death notices for various cultural forms is a vivid example of sentiment and ideology masquerading as sober historical judgment. Film has been buried alive, sharing cemetery space with the novel, painting, serious theater, rock ’n’ roll and all the other still-vibrant artistic pursuits that are routinely mistaken for corpses or shambling, brain-dead zombies.”

Here at the FIlm Society of Lincoln Center, we're inclined to agree! For immediate proof take a look at our Top 10 lists for 2012.

What do you think?

More then 800 new movies opened in New York City in 2012 and we've limited our pool to the best movies that received a theatrical release this year. Here are some of our staff lists featuring our ten best rosters for the year.

Will you share your list in the comments section below?

Jeryll AdlerAdvertising Director

In alphabetical order – not by first to last, and qualified by the fact that there are many films I hear are amazing that I have not had the opportunity to see yet because I am here and you are there and this is Los Angeles and the roads are a tragedy! But I do also have a real soft spot in my heart for Bernie, so it is sort of my favorite, and I would include Beyond the Hills if it had been released this year.

ArgoBernieFarewell My QueenFirst PositionThe ImpossibleLife of PiLincolnPerks of Being a WallflowerSilver Linings PlaybookTabu

Matt BolishOperations Coordinator

AmourLooperCabin In The WoodsMoonrise KingdomThe MasterRobot & FrankOnce Upon A Time In AnatoliaZero Dark ThirtySafety Not GuaranteedArgo

Bronwyn CunninghamExecutive Assistant

In alphabetical order:

AmourBarbaraBeasts of the Southern WildHoly MotorsMarina Abramovic: the Artist is PresentSearching for Sugar ManSilver Linings PlaybookStarletTake This WaltzZero Dark Thirty

1. In the Family (I'm cheating a bit since it got a limited release at the end of last year, but I refuse to let this wonderful movie slip through the cracks any more than it already has.)2. The Kid With a Bike3. How to Survive a Plague4. Las Acacias5. Oslo, August 31st6. Neighboring Sounds7. Zero Dark Thirty8. Holy Motors9. Compliance10. The Waiting Room

Honorable mention goes to a trio of new frights (Kill List, The Snowtown Murders and Sinister)and two long overdue U.S. releases (Battle Royale, The Loved Ones) that made 2012 especially terrifying.

The Gatekeepers (Dror Moreh): Both dispiriting, due to the subject matter and the fact that those who are in a position to know strongly suggest that peace is not ever likely, and exhilarating, due to the intelligence and creativity of the filmmakers.

Argo (Ben Affleck): An old-fashioned film, which despite it's “twisting” of the truth [the Canadians get short-shrift; the final scene was not as hair-raising as in “real-life”], captures you early and never lets you go.

The Hunger Games (Gary Ross): Popular entertainment, well-done.

The Invisible War (Kirby Dick): Devastating, heartbreaking, and rage-inducing.

Lincoln (Steven Spielberg): Sometimes knowing a lot about an era/topic can negatively impact your ability to enjoy fictional representations of that period. With “Lincoln”, my knowledge of the Civil War era in some cases made me mutter “didn't happen”–the first scene's recitation of the “Gettysburg Address” by soldiers, Grant's “we can't spare you, Mr. President” bit toward the end–but the performances by Day-Lewis and Tommie Lee Jones (as well as a host of small, well-honed ones), override any historical quibbling I might have. Whether or not Day-Lewis captured perfectly the voice of Lincoln–we'll never, ever know–he certainly captured the essence of the man I've read about as much as any figure in history.

Chasing Ice (Jeff Orlowski): The glaciers are disappearing and we're all going to die. Popcorn? Despite the foreboding of the film, James Balog's time-lapse photography of said fated glaciers, and Jeff Orlowski's extraordinary capturing and presenting of Balog's work, make the film compelling despite the unbearable truths they portray.

Knuckleball! (Ricki Stern & Anne Sundberg): The filmmakers got caught covering the decline of one great knuckleballer–Tim Wakefield–more than the ascent of another–R.A. Dickey–but despite the unavoidable circumstances, they present both men and their “uncontrollable” pitch with depth, humor and grace. Dickey in particular is revealed in the film–as he has been elsewhere now, many times over–as an uncommonly thoughtful person, never mind athlete. A full movie could easily have just covered his long, painful, circuitous route to success.

Jiro Dreams of Sushi (David Gelb): I've always said that if an artist portrays something primal, you'd better walk away from the experience wanting to do that thing–with sex and food being the main topics. Here, you do walk away searching for the nearest sushi bar, but also with thoughts of the challenges of navigating familial history, legacy and obligation, as well as the demands of being an artist, whether your milieu is one of canvas, paper or yellowtail.

Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry (Alison Klayman): Protest at its peak, in the face of real threat.

The Dust Bowl (Ken Burns): Maybe I am cheating here. I think this DID premiere at Mountainfilm in May. A riveting, terrifying depiction of the worst man-made environmental disaster in American history.

Note: Cosmopolis & Holy Motors would be included but I can't decide which one I like best so I'm leaving them both out. That's what you get when you mix sleek digital photography and limousines the same year.

The Film Society of Lincoln Center celebrates American and international cinema, to recognize and support new filmmakers, and to enhance awareness, accessibility and understanding of the art among a broad and diverse film going audience.